Difference between communism and capitalism

Communism vs capitalism:

The terms capitalism and communism may be overly familiar to many while other may be extremely baffled and confused by these two words. And yet, communism and capitalism are two terms from which one cannot diverge from when speaking of financial and social systems. Communism and capitalism can be stated as the exact opposite political ideologies that contradict each other in every possible way. In fact, it might be interesting to know that communism was created with the sole idea of counteracting against capitalism which was engulfing the world at the time. Thereby, this article seeks to provide the facts and the information that will enable the reader recognize each term in a clearer light.

What is communism?
Developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the year 1917 through their book Communist manifesto which was published right after the Bolshevik revolution, communism can be best described as a social, political and an economic ideology that focuses on the establishment of a society which is structured upon common ownership. In this concept, there will be no significant classes, money, social status or hierarchy in the society and everybody will be treated the same as every individual in the society shall be considered as equals. Communism discusses the idea of power being vested within the people who decide what is best for their society by themselves as a community. Communism discusses the possibility of a socialist world. In communism, the society is given the supremacy. There will be no rulers who will be treated above the rest. Everybody will be equals in the society and every profit, every production shall be distributed equally among the community members with the aim of developing the community as a whole.

What is capitalism?
First emerged in the 1600s as the successor of feudalism, capitalism can best be defined as a financial and a social system that recognizes individual property rights, individual consumption and approves of the private ownership of capital. It gave rise to the industrialization and is based on the rights of the individual and allows individuals unlimited opportunities in creating wealth for themselves. Capitalism also encourages the individual to own as much property and goods that they can afford to buy which in turn results in inequality. This inequality then results in each citizen striving to accumulate more wealth in order to stand above the rest and yet, each individual is supposed to respect the rights of other individuals. Any act of violence or aggression on an individual’s part is considered as illegal and is thus punished by law. The citizens of a capitalist society are provided with equal opportunity when competing as sellers or buyers of goods or property, with the government playing no part in it except setting up certain rules and regulations regarding the process. Capitalism is honest competition and letting the marketplace decide who has the better product for better prices and one sees no oppression of the individual here as a result.

What is the difference between capitalism and communism?
Capitalism and communism are two political theories which can be stated as the complete opposite of one another as their fundamental ideologies contrast each other in the most prominent ways. For example, capitalism is the embodiment of private enterprise and individualism whereas communism is based on the belief that individual gain must be scarified in order to achieve collective gain. Thus communism shuns private ownership of land, property or any other resource, thus allowing the state or the community the ownership of all goods and services with the intention of promoting a common ownership. Capitalism on the other hand is all about private ownership and the belief that every man should earn his or her own means of income. While the owner of the land or the business shall get all the profit earned from the business, the workers shall get a smaller share in the form of wages which once again will depend upon the thoughts and wishes of the owner.

Capitalism as mentioned earlier gives more emphasize and importance to individual aspirations and as a result, appeals to the inherent selfishness of the man. Communism on the other hand, appeals to the more saintly side of man that harbors the noble thought of selflessness that goes against the inherent selfish quality of the human species. Communism thus preaches of a classless, egalitarian society where everybody is treated equally and everybody is given an equal standing. Capitalism on the other hand, promotes class distinction where the gap between the rich and the poor is highly emphasized. This is a society where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer as a result of the rich people yielding power when the poor are forced to live under their reign.